Fr Job Mathew is among the four priests accused of sexually abusing a marries woman in Kerala.

Fr Job Mathew, one of the four priests accused of sexually abusing a woman in Kerala, has surrendered before the state crime branch on Thursday. On Monday, the crime branch registered a rape case against four priests of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church who have been accused of sexually exploiting a married woman belonging to their church. The accused priests are Jaise K George, Abraham Varghese, Johnson V Mathew and Job Mathew.

The victim’s husband had written to the Church, alleging that the priests had blackmailed and abused his wife. The woman, in her statement to the crime branch, alleged that Varghese sexually abused her during her teenage years and this continued after he became a priest and both of them married separate people.

Later, the woman confessed about this to Job Mathew who threatened to reveal the confession to her husband and sexually abused her, she has alleged. The woman then took up the matter with her distant relative and college classmate Johnson V Mathew, who went on to become a priest. He also sexually exploited her after threatening to disclose the earlier affairs, she has alleged. Jaise K George allegedly assaulted her when she went to him for counselling due to the trauma, she has said.